People, animals seek heat relief across Europe

Parts of Europe are under scorching hot temperatures, just as an international team of scientists releases data saying climate change is likely to blame. Mana Rabiee reports.

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Europe is baking .... with heat waves this week, across the continent.
So tourists in Italy flocked to Rome's iconic fountains...
Anything to fight the heat.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DANISH TOURIST, JETTE, SAYING:
"It's very hot, very hot. You can't even breathe. So it's very good there is some water here."
London registered its hottest July day on record this week.
And parts of France, too, saw record temperatures for early July ... 104 degrees Fahrenheit or about 40 degrees Celsius.
Similar heat was forecast for Germany, where even the animals at the Berlin zoo retreated into the shade.
(SOUNDBITE) (German) ZOO VISITOR [NO NAME GIVEN] SAYING:
"Well, they are doing the right thing. They're in the water. I wish I could join them."
These Belgians took three straight days of scorching temperatures in stride.
Two hundred people showed up for a water fight in Brussels organized on social media.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) 14-YEAR-OLD PARTICIPANT, NOEMIE GALLO, SAYING:
"Before that, I felt like I was dying. Now, I feel like I'm coming back to life."
There is a serious side to all of this.
A team of international scientists from universities, research centers and meteorological services released new climate data on Friday.
They say the kind of heat waves hitting Europe this week are becoming more and more frequent in the region, and that climate change is likely to blame.
Some 70,000 people died across Europe in 2013 during a heat wave, many of them elderly, and countries like the Netherlands have created national plans to better prepare for the hot summers ahead.

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